1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to multimedia playing, and more particularly to a system and method that loads and plays the multimedia without information discontinuity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Applications of the multimedia information are getting more and more popular, and there are more and more multimedia playback systems designed for playing multimedia information. Those systems, e.g. CD players, DVD players, MP3 players, etc, have become standard equipments in human daily lives now. A multimedia playback system usually employs a loader, which is usually integrated by means of electrical and mechanical components, to retrieve the multimedia information from a compact disc, a hard disk, a memory of the multimedia information system, or the like. Therefore, the multimedia information can be recorded onto a portable medium so that the loader may load the multimedia information directly whenever a user wants to play the multimedia information recorded thereon.
A multimedia playback system usually employs a navigator to control the playing progress according to a series of play orders, wherein each play order correspondent to a playing progress is further correspondent to a multimedia segment. A series of multimedia segment can be controlled by a series of play orders, which indicates that the multimedia information can be shown by playing associated multimedia segments. Basically, a playing progress may be impermanent and could be changed any time. As some examples, a user may demand playing forward, playing fast forward, playing backward, or playing fast backward any time he/she wants. Besides, the loader can provide only one multimedia segment at a time, thus the multimedia playback system usually employs a buffer used for storing the multimedia information. However, the size of the buffer may introduce another limitation for the size of multimedia segments.
A play engine (PE) controls the playing of multimedia segments by demanding and playing all retrieved multimedia segments according to a play order. Basically, a decoder (DEC) is to decode the multimedia segments after the data-retrieving operation is complete. FIG. 1 illustrates an operating flow for playing a multimedia segment in a multimedia playback system. Firstly, referring to step 110, the navigator 10 sends a play order when the play engine 20 is in a play engine standby mode. Next, the play engine 20 demands the loader 30 to provide a multimedia segment after receiving the play order in step 120, and then the play engine 20 receives a response from the loader 30 to indicate that the loader 30 returns to a loader standby mode after the multimedia segment has been provided in step 130. Afterwards, the decoder 40 decodes the multimedia segment fed from the loader 30 for the sake of playback in step 140, and then the play engine 20 receives a response from the decoder 40 to indicate that the decoder 40 returns to a decoder standby mode. Finally, referring to step 160, the play engine 20 issues a response indicative of the play engine 20 returns to a play engine standby mode to the navigator 10.
Accordingly, any consequent command in a play order sequence cannot be sent for playback until a previous one correspondent to the command has been manipulated. Thus, a decoder will idle in the decoder standby mode before the next multimedia segment is loaded. A problem that playing multimedia segments discontinuously resulting from decoder idles might displease customers who are enjoying entertainments from the playing multimedia information.